Honing apparatus



Patented Nov. 12, 1940 I PATENT OFFICE azzrtsi noimvG Arranarus 'HerbertS. Indge, Westboro, Mass., assignor to Norton Company, Worcester; Mass.,av corpora-f tion of Massachusetts Application 14, 1939, serial No.309.173

s claims. (ci. 51a 4) The invention relates to` honing `gnachines, and

escale, taken approximately on the line 6 5 of more particularly toamachine adapted for hon ing small internal bores or holes, such'as thecrankpin end bearing o f an automobile connect'- ing rod. This is acontinuation-in-part of my copending applicationSerial No. 267,465,filed April 12, 1939. One object of the invention isto provide a -simpleand'thoroughly practical internal 'honing machine in which a smallinternal cylindrical bore may be rapidly honed to a surface of thedesired quality. Another object of the invention is to provide ahole-lapping or honing machine in which the work piece, such as an'automobile connecting rod, is held stationary and the honing tool isreciprocated longitudinally by means of a hydraulically operated iuidmotor. A fur' ther object of the invention is to provide a honingmachine for'small cylindrical bores in which the h'oning tool isreciprocated longitudinally by means'of a pair of fluid motorswhich are`ar' ranged' on diametrically opposite sidesbf'the honing tool. Anotherobject of the-invention is to provide a honing machine with ahydraulically reeiprocated honing tool which is reciprocatedlongitudinally duringthe honing operation, in which -an indexingmechanismactuated in timed relation with the longitudinal reciprocationserves' to produce a partial rotation of the honing vtool during eachreciprocation of the tool. Other objects will be in partobvious or inpart pointed out her after. f

TheLin ention accordingly consists in the features of construction.combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, as will beexemplined in the structure to be hereinafter described, and the scope"of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown one o1 various possibleembodiments of the mechanicalfeatures of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a plan view loi the improved lhoning machine, having partsbroken away and shown in section to more clearly show the operatingmechanism:l j Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic showing jot the fluid ,pressuresystem together with the honing ma'V chine; Y

3 is a cross-sectional view, on a reduced scale, taken approximatelyonthe line 3-3 of Fig. -1;

on a reduced scale,

n taken approximatelyA on the u line 4-"Iof4li'lg. 1;. .v f

the abrasive honing elements 23 may be exl 4 isa fragmentarycross-sectional view,

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view, on an enlarged Fig. 1, showing the camforexpanding and contracting the honing tool; igr 6 is a fragmentarysectional viewtaken 5 -on the line G Gof Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary left-handA end elevation.of the movable outboardbearing member shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. `8 is a fragmentary elevation, on an en- 10 larged scale, of theadjustable cam and index pawlactuating mechanism. s i

The improved honing machine as illustrated may comprise a base I0 havingan upwardly extending frame II which is provided with a cylin- 151drical bore I2. The frame II and bore I2 serve' as a support for ahorizontally extending member I3. The member 'I3 is provided with anintegral hub Il which is arranged to fit within the bore I2 of the frameII. The member I3 and its inte- 20- gra1 hub Mare, hem against rotationwit-.nin the. frame II'by means of-a key I5 and held in adjustedposition on the'frame II by means of a collar I6 which is screw threadedonto the hub portion I4. 25

'I'he hub vportion g4 of theplate I3 is provided with a central bore I8which serves as' a slidable support for a-lapping or honing tool 20.'I'he tool 20 comprises a longitudinally extending tubular member. 2lwhich is provided with a 30- plurality 'of longitudinally extendingslots 22 t receive'the abrasive, each of which is arranged to receive ahoning element or bonded abrasive stick 23. The abrasive sticks 23 areeach supported or fastened to sheetmetal clips 24. 'A wedge-shapedmember'f25 is supported on the opposite side of the clip 24 from theabrasive honing element 23 and has anv inner tapered surface 26whichengages andr mates with a frusta-conical member '21 .by means ofwhich panded or contracted. Each of `the metal clips 24 is provided withhooked ends 28 and '29. .A garter spring 30surrounds the hooks 23 ,atone end of the honing sticks 23 and a garter spring 3l surrounds andengages'the hooks 29 at the other end of the honing sticks 23. .Thegarter springs 3l and 3|V serve to hold the surfaces 26 at alltimesinoperative engagement with the frustbconical member 21. `It. thefrusto-conical member 21 is moved toward the left (Fig. 1), thegartersprings will collapse or' contract the abrasive honing sticks 23,and similarly if the Irustoconical member 21 'is moved towardA theright, 65

on the opposite side of the honing elements 23.1

The base is provided with an upwardly extending bracket 35 having abearing 36 mounted therein in axial alignment with'the tubular member 2|to serve 4as an outboard bearing for the honing tool during the honingoperation. The bracket 35 supporting the outboard bearing 38 ispreferably removably mounted on the base ID to facilitate loading ofwork pieces into the machine.

`The bracket 35 (Fig. 7) is provided with a dovetailed slideway 31whichy mates with a correspondingly shaped surface formed on the uppersurface of the base I0. A binder screw 38 serves to clamp the bracket 35in position and also serves to facilitate rapid removal of the bracket35 after a honing operation has been completed.

A spool-shaped member 40 is non-rotatably mounted on the end of thetubular member 2| and serves as a support for a plate 4| by means ofwhich a reciprocatory movement is imparted to the honing tool 2|). Apair of fluid motors 42 and 43 are arranged on diametrically oppositesides of the honing tool 20. The motors 42 and 43 are identical inconstruction and are xedly mounted .on the plate I3. Only one of thesemotors has been illustrated in detail, since they are identical inconstruction. The iuid motors comprise a cylinder 44 having a slidablymounted piston 45 therein. A piston rod 4B is connected to the piston 45and extends through opposite ends of said cylinder. One end of thepiston rod 4B passes through/the plate I3 and the plate 4| and is heldin xed relation to the plate 4| by 40 a pair of nuts 41 and 48 which arescrew threaded onto a threaded portion 49 of the piston rod 46.Similarly, the fluid motor 43 comprises a cylinder 44a. having aslidably mounted piston 45a, therein. A piston rod 46a is connected tothe 45 piston 45a and extends through opposite ends of said cylinder.One end of the piston rod 46a passes through the plate |3 and the plate4| and is held in xed relation to the plate 4| by a pair of'nuts 41a.and48a which are screw threaded onto a threaded portion 49a of the pistonrod 46a. It will be readily apparent from the foregoing disclosure thatwhen the nuts 41, 48 and 41a, 48a are locked in adjusted position, areciprocatory motion of the pistons 45 and 45a will transmit acorresponding reciprocatory movement through the plate 4| and tubularmember 2| to reciprocate the honing elements 23 of' the honing tool 20relative to a work piece 50 to be honed.

A control valve is formed within the motor casing 42 and may comprise apilot valve 5| whichl slides longitudinally within a valve sleeve 52. Areversing valve 53 is preferably in the form of a shuttle valve which isarranged to slide within a central aperture within the pilot valve 5|.An adjustablyy mounted collar 54 on the piston rod 46 is arranged in thepath of a pair of adjustably mounted collars 55 and 56 which are carriedby a pilot valve stem 51. Fluid under pressure from a fluid pressuresystem to be hereinafter described enters through a pipeA 58 (Fig: 2)into the valve mechanism and uid is exhausted from a port 59 located onthe opposite side of the cylinder 44.

The uid motor 43 is similarly provided with afA valve (not shown) whichare identical with the valve mechanism for the motor 42 above `described. The piston rod 46a is provided with an adjustably mountedcollar 54a which is arranged in the path of adjustably mounted collars`55a and 56a which are supported on a pilot valve stem 51a and serve toactuate the pilot valve in timed relation with the movement ofV thepiston 45a and the piston rod 56a. l

A fluid pressure system is provided toconvey fluid under pressure to thefluid motors 42 and 43 synchronously to actuate the pistons 45 and 45athereof to transmit a reciprocatory movement of the honing tool 20relative to the work piece 5U. This fluid pressure system may comprise a'fluid reservoir 65. .A motor driven pump 66 draws fluid through a pipe61 from the reservoir 65 and passes it simultaneously through the pipes58 and 58a to the uid operated motors 42 and 43, respectively, toproduce a reciprocatory movement thereof. Fluid exhausting from themotors 42 and 43 passes out through the pipes 59 and 59a, respectively,to exhaust the iluid into the reservoir 65. A fluid pressure reliefvalve 68 is connected in the pipe lines 58 or 58a and serves to convey-excess fluid under pressure back to the reservoir 65.

A readily accessible means is provided for adjusting theposition of theabrasive honing elements 23 relative to their axis of rotation so thatthey may be readily expanded to hone a hole or bore to the requiredpredetermined size. The frusto-conical shaped member 21 is preferablyformed integral with a rod 10 which is journalled at the left-hand end(Fig. 1) in a bushing 1| which is screw threaded into the end of thetubular member 2|. The other end of the rod 10 passes through aclearance hole in a bushing 12 which is screw threaded into the otherend of the tubular shaped member 2|. A spring 13 -surrounds the rod 10and is interposed between the onical member 21 and the bushing 12.4,ompression of the spring 13 normally end with an enlarged end portionhaving a cylindrical face 18 which serves as a rotatable support for amanually operable control handle 19. A cam face is provided on the outerend face of the bushing 12 and a corresponding cam face 8| is providedon .the inner face of the lever control handle 19. .These two cam facesB0 and 8| are arranged so that when the handle is turned to permit acollapsing 'of the lap, the cam 8| is Ymanually rotated relative to thecam 80 until the high points on the cam 8| coincide with the lowk pointsof the cam 80, thus releasing the cornpression of the spring 13, whichserves to move the frusto-con-ical member 21 toward the left (Fig. 1)whereby the lapping or honing elements 23 are contracted by the gartersprings 3D and 3|, respectively. The bearing bracket 35 and the workpiece 50 may then be removed and replaced with a new work piece.Afteria. new Work piece has been inserted in position, the handle 19 maythen be actuated to' cause yan endwise movement It is desirame thatthehoning w01 2i begiven aslight rotary motion during its longitudinalmovement so that the' abrasive grains of each of Ythe abrasive honingsticks 23, instead of traveling in a path parallel to the axis of thehone, will travel in a path at an angle' thereto, namely in/a dexingmechanism is provided which is. actuated by and in timed relation withtire reciprocatory movement of the honing tool 20 to produce a rotaryor4 indexing movement of the honing toolon each stroke. Av ratchet wheel901s xedly -mounted on the spoolshaped member '40 to produce .a rotarymovement of the vhoning tool 20. A -pawl 9|' is -pivotally mounted on astud 92. on 'an oscillatable farm 93 which is oscillatably supported on.the sleeve 2|. AThe arm 93 is arranged so that `it-reciprofiates with'the sleeve 2| during the reciprocation of the honing tool 20. Anadjustable -stopl screw 94 is sup.

ported in an,upwardly extending boss 95 formed. integral :with the plate4I3 andserves to limit the swinging movement of rthe .arm 93 ina-counter clockwise direction,(Fig. 4) VA spring 95 is con'. nectedatone'end to the arm l93 and at the other endto a stud 91 which is xedlysupported on the frameo'r plat I3A A cam 98 is formed on a bracket 99which adjustably'xd t0 the plate |3.by means ofscrews |00 and'v |0-|which passv 'through elongated slots in `the bracket 99 and are screwthreaded into the plate or lframe I3. It will be readily apparent fromthe foregoing disclosure that when xthe honing tool 20v together withthe ratchet wheel 90 and pawl 9| and arm 93 are moved toward theframeor" plate |3, the arm 93 rides down-the face of the cam 98. Thismovement serves to rock the arm 93 in a clockwise direction, thustransmitting an oscillating 45 motion through the 4pawl 9| to rotate theratchet wheel190togetherwithothe honing tool 20 one or more teeth ateach stroke of the tool inthe direction toward-the left (Fig. 4).. y -Itis desirable that a rotarymovement transmitted to the honing tool oneach stroke of the tool. In order' to accomplish this result, a-secondindexing pawl |05 is provided.- The.

4pawl Hl5issupportedona stud |06 which is-4 carried by an osciliatablearm- |01. l 'Ehe arm '55 l'Lis oscillatably supported on the sleeve 2|and is .held against endwise movement by a ilange |03 on the sleeve` 2|.The arm |01 is t normally held in engagementwith an adjustable s'topfscrew |08 which is screw threaded 60' into a` boss. |09 fixedly mountedn the frame or plate. I3. One end of a spring ||0 'is connested to .thearm m1v and the other# ena 1s con-,- nected to a stud which is xedlymounted on the piateor frame n. fA sam m is-formedf integral with abracket ||3. The bracket ||3 isadjustably supported on the plate orframe I3 by meansofscrews ||4 and |.|5. 'I'he screws M and throughei'ongated suits formed 1 in the br et I'I's' and are screw threadedinto the plate or frame 13; .Bymienipulation ofthe screws ne 'and Mathe.bracket -m may be readily clamped in adjusted position and serves -.tofacilitate adjustment fthe cam ||2.- When yhelical path. In orderttoproduce the desired* rotary .movement of the honingjtool 20, an inv Thestud "92 is fixedly 'mounted' 8) which moves the arm |01 in a clockwisedirection (Fig. 4) to rotatethe ratchet wheel 90 one or more teethvto'impart a rotary movement to the honing tool 20. It will be readilyapparent from the foregoing disclosure that .the 5 index pawl 9| willimpart arotary movement to the ratchet wheel90 when the honing Itool ismoved toward the 1eftj(Fig. 1) and the pawi |05, will transmit adrotarymovement to the ratchet wheel 90 when the honing tool 20 is traversed 10towardltheright (Fig. A1) so that apartialrot tation of the hone 20 isobtained at each trav- Y ersing movement of the hone 20,

The machine illustrated in the drawings has been shown as particularlyapplicable to honing 15 the crankpln ends of automobile engine connecting'rods; These rods vary in length and it is desirable to provideK asupport for^the work piece 50 which may be readily adjus foraccommodating any length of connecti rod. 20 'I'he wristpin end |25 ofthe connecting rod 50-` is'supported by la pair of opposed centers |25'fand |21 which arein turn supported by means of a plvotally mountedmember |28 which is provided with a pair of integrally formed, upward-25 ly extending arms- |29 and |30 which respec-l tively support'thecenters |25 and |21.` The centers |26 and |21 `are adjustablysupported in their respective arms |29 and |30 and may be locked inadjusted position relative thereto by means of clamping screws |3|v and|32, respectively. The lower'end ofthe frame |28 is pivotally supportedon a shaft |35 which is journalled in spaced-bossesql36 and|31-projecting upwardly 'from\ the base I0. The shaft |35 .is preferablyilxed relativeito the frame |20 and is rotatably' supported in thebosses |36 and |31 to facilitate a rocking adjustment of themem- -ber|28 Clamping screws |38'and |39 areprovided to lock the shaft |35 andthe member |20 in adjustedppsition for honing a given length connectingrod.

Thefconnecting rod may ilrst be positioned Q relative to the hone 20 `bytakingo` the end cap thereof and placingit around the cylindrical honeand; then again clamping itin adjusted position, or a readily removableclamping I member may be provided to clamp the lower half bearing inadjusted position for a honingy operation. In thev preferredconstruction, however, the outboard bearing 35 may be provided with a-dovetaiied slideway so that it is removably supported on the base I0 tofacilitate loading of work pieces into the machine, in which case thework. piece may be slid overv the outerend 'of the tubular sleeve ormember ,2| and'into an operative position ven tlie hone 20 and with thewristpin end .positioned between the s ,up-

porting centers |25 and |21.

l It-i's d ble to provide suitable adjustable end thrust members forholding the crankpin end oflthe connecting red 50 against endvisemovement as the honing tool 20 is reciprdcated, As illustrated in thedrawings,v thisniechanism may 'comprise apair of pivotally mounted arms'|50 and. |5 |-which are pivotally supported on a shaft |52 which isjournalled in the upwardly extending portions and 35a of thebase 0 Thearms' |50 and |5| are veach provided 'with an adjustable stop screw I 53and |54', respectively,

which arejscrew threaded into the bosses formed inthe'upper endsofthearms |50 and |5|.` They lare arranged toengage and'locate and holdthe crankpin vend of the .connecting rod 50 in "ad-v `nt-.teapositionsuma with the testers m and 76 |21 so as to prevent endwise movement ofthe crankpin end of the connecting rod during the honing operation. Ifdesired, the honing machine may be operated either with or without theuse of the outboard bearing 35.

The operation of .this honing apparatus is readily apparent from theforegoing' disclosure. A work piece, such as a connecting rod 50, isinserted in place with its Wristpin end supported by the centers |28 and|21 and its crankpin end surrounding the abrasive honing sticks orelements 23 and held against endwise movement by adjustment of the stoplocating screws |53 and |54 into engagement with the side faces of thecrankpin end of the connecting rod 50. The uid pressure pump 6.5 isthen'started to reciprocate the honing tool 20 and the control handle 19is then turned into the position illustrated in Fig. 1 to expand theabrasive honing element 23 into operative engagement with the bore orhole to be honed. The honing` operation may then be continued for thedesired time interval, after which the hone may again be contracted orcollapsed and the reciprocatory movement stopped to facilitate removalof the nish honed piece of Work and the insertion of a new piecetliereinstead.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided by this inventionapparatus in which the various objects hereinabove set forth togetherwith many thoroughly practical advantages are successfully achieved. Asmany possible embodi- -ments may be made of'the above invention and asmany changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is tobe understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in theaccompanying drawings is to be interpreted as 'illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

I claim:

1. In a honing machine, a base, a rotatably mounted hone thereon havinga plurality of adjustable honing elements, means to expand or contractsaid elements, means to reciprocate said hone, and a work support for aconnecting rod comprising a pair of aligned opposed work supportingcenters to support the Wristpin. end of said rod while the crank endsurrounds said honing tool.

2. vIn a honing machine having a base, a rotatably mounted hone thereonhaving a plurality of radially adjustable honing elements, means toexpand or contract said elements, means to reciprocate said hone, and awork support for an automotive connecting rod comprising apair ofaligned opposed centers tosupport the Wristpin end of said rod while thecrank bearing end of said rod surrounds said hole, and means to adjustthe position of said centers so as to accommodate connecting rods ofdifferent lengths.

3. In a honing machine having a base, a rotatably mounted hone thereonhaving a plurality of radially adjustable honing elements, means toexpand or contractsaid elements, means to reciprocate said hone, and aWork support comprising a pair of aligned opposed centers to support thewristpin end of a connecting rod While the crankpin bearing endsurrounds the hone, a pivotal support -forv said centers, and means toadjust the position of said support so as to accommodate connecting rodsof variousv lengths.

4. In a honing machine having a base, a rotatably mounted hone thereonhaving a plurality of radially adjustable honing elements, means toexpand or contract said elements, means to reciprocate said hone, and awork support for an automotive connecting rod comprising a pair ofaligned opposed centers to support the Wristpin end of said rod whilethe crank bearing end of said rod surrounds said hone, and means to holdthe crank end of said connecting rod against endwisemovement during'they reciprocatory movement of said hone.

5. In a honing'machine having a base, a rov tatably mounted. honethereon having a plurality of radially adjustable honing elements, meansto expand or contract said elements, means to reciprocate said hone, anda Work support for an automotive connecting rod compris- -ing a pair ofaligned opposed centers to support the wristpin endv` of said rod whilethe cranl` bearing end of said rod surrounds said hone, and meansincluding opposed pivotally supported 'adjusting screws to locate andhold the crank end of said rod against endwise movement duringreciprocation of said hone.

HERBERT S. INDGE.

